Biography for
John Denver More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

31 December 1943, Roswell, New Mexico, USA

Date of Death

12 October 1997, Monterey Bay, California, USA (plane crash)

Birth Name

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

As the son of an Air Force officer, Denver was constantly moved from state to state and country to country. It was in Tucson, Arizona, that his grandmother gave him his first acoustic guitar, a gift that would prove an icebreaker when meeting other students at the many new schools in which he was placed. After settling with his family in Fort Worth, Texas, Denver ran away to California for a short time. He returned to Texas and graduated from high school, but soon returned to California on a more permanent basis. He began performing at Leadbetter's night club in West Los Angeles but had a major career breakthrough when he was selected to replace the departing Chad Mitchell of The Chad Mitchell Trio. He remained with that organization until 1968 when he struck out on his own. From 1969 through 1975, Denver was the top-selling recording artist, appearing on both country and pop charts alike. His peak year was 1975, during which he was awarded the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year in addition to being selected as the American Guild of Variety Artists' Singing Star of the Year. During this period, he tried his hand at acting, appearing as Deputy Dewey Cobb in a 1973 episode of "McCloud" (1970) and hosting Day of the Bighorn (1974) (TV), an ecologically-minded television special. His most memorable role came in 1977 when he starred opposite George Burns in the hit comedy, Oh, God! (1977). Following this, his record sales began to decline, and he made fewer movies and television specials. He became something of a political activist, with his main focus being on environmental issues. He was killed on Sunday, October 12, 1997, when the plane he was piloting crashed into Monterey Bay.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Cassandra Delaney	(12 August 1988 - 1993) (divorced) 1 child
Annie Martell	(9 June 1967 - 1983) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Wore wire framed glasses

Trivia

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1977" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 29. [1977]

Children from marriage with Annie Martell; Zachary and Anna Kate (adopted).

Children from marriage with Cassandra Delaney; Jesse Belle.

Uncle of the twin babies who played "Oscar" in the film Ghostbusters II (1989), William T. Deutschendorf and Henry J. Deutschendorf II. One would assume Henry was named after him. Though John Denver's father was also named Henry John Deutschendorf and John Denver's paternal-grandfather was John Henry Deutschendorf.

He was any early follower of Werner Erhard, founder of the self-improvement association known as EST (Erhard Seminars Training). Denver once asked Erhard if he might become a trainer in the EST organization but was told he could contribute more by continuing his career as an entertainer - spreading the message, through his music, of taking personal responsibility for whatever happens in the world. Several of his subsequent songs reflected that philosophy.

Was cremated, and his ashes spread over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 155-156. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Lost two toes in a accident with a lawn mower.

Briefly attended the School of Architecture at Texas Tech.

Mentioned in the song "Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me" by Reunion.

Met wife Annie Martell while performing a gig at Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter, Minnesota, where she was a student.

His final concert was in Corpus Christi, Texas, a week prior to his tragic accident.

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996.

Plane crash was about 100 yards offshore from a very popular landmark known as "Lover's Point".

The Federal Aviation Administration's crash report was inconclusive regarding what caused Denver's crash. It is widely known that Denver had twice been arrested for DUI in prior years, leading to questions as to whether his pilot's license should have been revoked.

NTSB accident report states the cause of the airplane crash that killed him was his attention being diverted to the fuel selector, when shortly after takeoff, his engine stalled due to fuel starvation. The fuel selector, in his newly purchased homebuilt, was located behind the pilot such that to change it he needed to turn left and reach behind his head. That caused him to move the control stick inadvertently to the left and down. That was a factor that led to the accident.

In ancestry he was three quarters German and one quarter Irish.

Personal Quotes

[on composing for The Bears and I (1974)] Heck, I'm no Henry Mancini or Michel Legrand. I just play the guitar and write songs. I know I'm incapable of orchestrating an entire film. They just asked me to write something expressing the story about a guy who's back from Vietnam and sorta lost, who goes to an Indian village in the Northwest.